Preparing a child for school requires a community effort

Published 7:00 pm, Monday, November 5, 2007

In Danbury, it starts with defining challenges to getting children ready for school.

Then it's determining what services are in place and making sure families know how to access them.

It also means creating new services if needed, like teaching doctors to recognize autism so toddlers receive help early, helping preschool teachers learn to manage the emotional needs of foster children, or providing more home care visits to new mothers.

The Danbury School Readiness Council and a steering committee of local and area agencies, including the United Way of Western Connecticut, Danbury Children First, and the Regional YMCA of Western Connecticut, are moving ahead with an initiative called "The New Three Rs -- ready children and families, ready communities and ready schools."

It fits with a new statewide push for children to be "ready at 5" to start school so they are "fine by 9."

Danbury started a council to oversee preschool and school readiness programs 10 years ago.

"Most of the time we've focused on the money we were getting (to provide preschool seats), but there are still a lot of kids who never get a quality preschool experience, and children (are) coming to kindergarten way behind," said Juleen Flanigan, director of early childhood services for Education Connection, a state center that supports schools in western Connecticut.

"If we want to make the commitment to parents and schools that every child coming to kindergarten has the tools ready to succeed, we need to take additional steps," Flanigan said.

The steering committee gathered Friday at the Danbury Fair mall to call for community support.

Flanigan said the event was "a turning point" for residents to say this is a good idea, to join the discussions about the needs and how to solve them, and to make a plan to find money to address the needs, which include making sure there are seats for up to 400 children who still need affordable quality preschool.

A proper plan will be eligible for new state grant money.

United Way executive director June Renzulli announced Friday that Proctor and Gamble has awarded a $50,000 grant through its "Live, Learn and Thrive" program to give books to families who need them.

In addition, United Way will pay for a grant writer to help the city to seek state money to support the plan.

United Way understands it's time for agencies to work together on the larger picture, Renzulli said. "If we want to get all the children ready, we have to see who is doing what and find what's missing."

After making that determination, she said, groups can fill the needs, monitor the plans and look for new barriers to overcome.

She said that means educating the whole city, even business leaders, of the need to reach children.

Research shows that spending $1 early saves $17 down the road, that 46 percent of children start school at risk for failure, and that the poorest children start school being one to two years behind others, she said.

"Employers who are going to compete in the global marketplace have to understand the need to start helping the children at an early age," Renzulli added.

And parents must understand that children can't just arrive at the school door. "We have to educate parents on how to prepare their children."

Danbury has programs like "Birth to 3" for children with special needs, said Ann Lindenmeyer, administrator of special projects and early childhood for the Danbury public schools. Schools not only must make sure they offer a welcome environment, but also help families understand the role of preschool in preparing their children for kindergarten.

Danbury Superintendent Sal Pascarella said the initiative is a chance to let people know about what is being done and what challenges still need to be overcome.

"This is multi-faceted. It's working with the schools and with families and it's bringing the community and schools all together to focus on readiness," Pascarella said. "It's a moral imperative. I think it's a wonderful thing."